Ukraine handed Spain a shock defeat in the UEFA Nations League match that took place in Ukraine on Tuesday night, while their Group A4 rivals Germany drew a six-goal thriller with Switzerland.
Luis Enrique’s Spain side still remain top by a point but they surrendered their 15-match unbeaten streak in Kiev after Viktor Tsygankov came off the bench to hand Ukraine a 1-0 victory.
The Ukrainian side also got a similarly exciting win against Portugal in the European Qualifiers last year.
Andriy Shevchenko’ side set up to defend and stifle their visitors, and it worked perfectly in their favour as they successfully held their clean sheet, allowing Tsygankov to secure the points late in the second half.
Tsygankov who came on as a substitute scored the only goal of the game in the 76th minute, breaking straight between Spain’s central defenders Ramos and Pau Torres to collect Andriy Yarmolenko’s precise pass and fire past David de Gea.
It is the first goal Ukraine have scored against Spain in 17 years – with now coach Shevchenko the last man to do so – as the hosts recorded their first competitive international victory against the former World Cup winners.
- The Spanish side, since losing back-to-back games against England and Croatia in the 2018 Nations League, lost their first game in just under two years.
Germany produced a comeback to avoid defeat against Switzerland
Germany ensured they did not fall against Switzerland as they came back twice to draw 3-3 on Tuesday night in Cologne.
Switzerland took the lead after five minutes when Mario Gavranovic headed smartly over Manuel Neuer to cap a spell of early pressure.
Remo Freuler then made it two after 26 minutes when he met Haris Seferovic’s cross and cleverly lifted a delicate finish over Neuer and the back-tracking Antonio Rudiger.
Germany then hauled themselves back into the game with Chelsea’s duo of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, bringing the score level by the 55th-minute mark.
Gavranovic, however, scored his second of the game to restore Switzerland’s lead but Serge Gnabry closed out the scoring on the hour, improving a flick off the instep to convert a Werner cutback, before Switzerland finished with 10 men following Fabian Schar’s late red card.
It was a game that had everything, from woeful defensive mistakes to brilliant goals.
Results from Tuesday’s Nations League matches
- Azerbaijan 0-0 Cyprus
- Latvia 0-1 Malta
- Faroe Islands 2-0 Andorra
- Germany 3-3 Switzerland
- Liechtenstein 0-0 San Marino
- Montenegro 1-2 Luxembourg
- Ukraine 1-0 Spain
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